Rossio protesters just lost their legal protection

The court ruling that kept Rossio’s housing camp going through the night has been put on hold. It’s Tuesday, 10 November. Twenty degrees. Air quality: 42 to 53 (Good to Moderate). Here’s what you need to know.

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A COURT PUTS ROSSIO’S PROTEST RULING ON HOLD, DAYS BEFORE THE CHRISTMAS MARKET

The legal cover that let housing protesters stay in Rossio overnight has been suspended. On Monday, the Lisbon administrative court, the same court and the same judge that ruled in the camp’s favour earlier this month, agreed that the Public Prosecutor’s appeal against that ruling should suspend it until the Constitutional Court decides the case.

The original ruling allowed Renata Cambra, the activist who brought the case, to keep a tent in the square until 24 November, including through the night. It also stopped the Public Security Police and the municipal police from breaking up the protest after 00:30. Both protections are now on hold. The appeal turns on whether the 00:30 cut-off for demonstrations, set by a 1974 decree, still fits the Constitution. The Constitutional Court could lift the suspension, and Cambra’s lawyer, Leonor Caldeira, expects it to rule urgently.

In practice, the change may be smaller than it sounds. Caldeira says the interior ministry told the court it would accept the original decision, so she doesn’t expect police to start enforcing the 00:30 limit again. Cambra herself has already taken down her tent, the broadcaster SIC reported, and she proposed on Saturday that the camp leave Rossio and regroup in the Jardim das Francesinhas, beside parliament, from 21 November until the final budget vote on 24 November.

The rest of the camp hasn’t settled on a plan. At Sunday night’s assembly, a large majority voted to keep Rossio as the protest’s base but left the question of the tents undecided, with further assemblies due this week. Meanwhile, Mayor Carlos Moedas has ordered the camp to move to Largo de São Domingos, Martim Moniz or Restauradores, police have said the camp and the market can’t share the square, and the Christmas market is due to open on Friday.

Bottom line: the court hasn’t ordered anyone out, but the ruling that protected the camp is on hold, and the real question now is where the housing protest goes next.

⚡ QUICK HITS

House prices have outpaced incomes in Portugal by more than anywhere else in the EU. The ratio of house prices to household income rose by 60.8% between 2015 and 2025, according to Eurostat, almost nine times the EU average of 6.8%. The Netherlands came next at 34.3%, followed by Hungary, the Czech Republic and Spain, while Romania saw the biggest fall. Building new homes is getting more expensive too. Portugal’s national statistics institute says construction costs were 7.4% higher in September than a year earlier, with labour up 7.7% as the sector struggles to find workers. Numbers like these go some way to explaining why housing has brought people onto the streets this autumn, from Rossio to Porto.

Lisbon will hand more than €94 million of income tax back to residents next year. Councils are entitled to up to 5% of the income tax their residents pay, and 209 of Portugal’s 308 municipalities will return some or all of that share in 2027, more than €238 million in total. Lisbon keeps its rate at 0%, returning the most of any council, while Porto cuts its share from 3% to 2.5%. Ninety-nine councils keep the full 5%. In practice, the money comes off residents’ tax bills when they file their returns in 2027, so a Lisbon resident whose income tax comes to €4,000 would get €200 back. Each council’s rate is listed on the Portal das Finanças, the tax authority’s website.

Portugal’s Green Rail Pass has had its best month since it launched. There were 94,495 top-ups in October, up 24% on the same month last year, in the first full month since the pass was extended to urban trains run by CP, the national rail operator, in Lisbon and Porto. It costs €20 for 30 days, €40 for 60 or €60 for 90, and covers CP trains across the country, except the Alfa Pendular and first class on Intercidades. The ministry’s example is a commuter from Monte Abraão, in Sintra, to Entrecampos, who could save up to €240 a year. It doesn’t cover the Metro or buses. The record month also came after weeks of rising fuel prices, which only eased with a sharp drop on Monday.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

SABORES DO SICHUAN (AREEIRO)

The star of the menu at Sabores do Sichuan arrives still steaming, in a deep bowl big enough for the whole table. It’s Sichuan boiled beef, with slices of beef over vegetables and a slick of hot chilli oil poured on at the last moment, and the three chillies beside it on the menu are an honest warning. The heat comes from chillies and Sichuan pepper, the citrusy berry that leaves a numbing tingle on the lips, and many of the spices are brought in from China.

The rest of the menu goes well beyond the usual Chinese takeaway. There’s mapo tofu cooked the traditional way, minced pork with pickled long beans served with little corn buns, scallops steamed with garlic and glass noodles, and a tofu soup simmered with meat for more than four hours. Not everything burns, either. Sweet and sour chicken, stir-fried bok choy and green beans with aubergine are there for anyone easing in. This is the second branch of the Avenida de Roma original, and the room is plain, with black-and-white photos of Sichuan and a bigger dining room downstairs.

Most mains cost between €9 and €20, and the big sharing dishes go further between two or three people. Portuguese wines start at under €10 a bottle. The chef works the wok largely on his own, and the small upstairs room fills quickly at weekday lunch. It’s open Monday to Saturday for lunch and dinner, and closed on Sundays.

→ Find them here ←

Insider tip: book for dinner, which the owners say gets even busier than lunch.

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